His Runaway Omega

The Mountain Shifters #4

by L.C. Davis

Benjamin is cursed when it comes to omegas. No, really. He's been matched with three omegas and all three of them ended up in another Alpha's arms. He knows he has what it takes not only to lead his pack as Alpha but to be the mate and father he's always wanted to be, but fate seems to have other ideas. When a problem omega who has been transferred from one home to the next ever since he was rescued from a brutal pack of Arctic wolves falls into his lap, Benjamin is determined to make it work this time, whether fate is on his side or not

It seems like every Alpha in the "civilized" packs that belong to the Federation of Wolves has tried to tame Yuri. He's been sold, traded and abused, but the omega refuses to be broken. Sooner or later, every Alpha who tries to claim him comes to realize that. The problem is, Benjamin Stillwater just doesn't know when to quit. He's unlike any Alpha Yuri has known, and he wants more than just the omega's body. He wants his heart. No matter how hard Yuri tries to push him away, Benjamin remains unyielding. Yuri runs, but an unexpected consequence of one night of passion threatens to undermine the freedom he's fought so long and hard for.

With his devotion tested at every turn, the nice guy Alpha who always puts others ahead of himself will learn that some things are worth fighting for at any cost. Can his runaway omega learn to trust before he runs too far for Benjamin's love to reach, or will Yuri's heart of ice freeze their last chance at love? Only time will tell if a cursed Alpha and a trouble omega can find peace and belonging in the idyllic Cold Water Pack.

Disclaimer: Contains mature content, intended for adult audiences. See inside cover for additional content warnings. This is the fourth book in The Mountain Shifters series. Reading His Unclaimed Omega may provide context, but this book can be read as a standalone.

Genres: M M Romance, Shapeshifters, Romance, Paranormal, Omegaverse, Abuse, Paranormal Romance

192 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 19, 2017

About the author

Hi! I'm L.C. Davis, author of The Mountain Shifters Series, Queer Magick and the upcoming Great Plains Shifters series. I write MPREG and M/M fantasy.

I love hearing from readers, so feel free to reach out here on Goodreads or via email at author@lcdavisbooks.com!

Reviews

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Very cute mpreg. I'm definitely checking out the other books in the series, since I haven't read them yet.

We have the cute, formerly abused, but feisty, omega, and the sweet, understanding alpha.

Benjamin is a young alpha of 26, who hasn't had any luck so far in finding his mate. That is why he finally agrees to an arranged mating. But when the young omega, Yuri, is delivered at his doorstep, Benjamin is enraged to see Yuri's hands are bound behind his back and it is clear Yuri is not used to people being kind to him.

Even though Yuri has been planning his escape as soon as he arrived at his new pack, he is also incredibly attracted to the young alpha. But he doesn't allow himself to trust Benjamin.

But eventually Yuri cannot fight the attraction any longer, and after a night of passion, Yuri runs away to an omega shelter, because he is convinced Benjamin will just be like any other alpha he's met so far. But Benjamin is heartbroken Yuri left and goes to the shelter to talk to him.

When Yuri still won't come back, Benjamin decides to court Yuri, to change his mind and to show him how good they can be together...

I liked how patient Benjamin was with Yuri. I just love an alpha who courts his omega.

I thought Yuri's past was a bit too secretive. We don't really find out everything that has happened to him. He keeps being vague about it and we just have to fill in the blanks ourselves. And I wanted a bit more relationship development. These guys don't spend a lot of time together and I had the feeling they never really knew each other before they said they loved each other.

Still, this was a very enjoyable mpreg with some lovely hurt/comfort.

[⚣Michaelle⚣ · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.8 Stars

Okay, this was more like what I was expecting from this 'verse. (Book 3 didn't impress me much.)

I really liked that Ben wasn't a "typical" alpha (even according to new Federation/Council pack rules), that he wasn't stuck in the hierarchical method of doing things, that he liked to think outside the box. Also really liked that there was an effort to "woo" the Omega, that even though he was essentially given to the Alpha, that by pack law Yuri belonged to Ben...well, Ben just wasn't going to do it that way. (He was making this effort even before Yuri ran to the shelter.) Despite the pain and the disappointment Ben wanted Yuri to choose Ben, and he was going to show Yuri he could be trusted. Okay, yeah, sure the heat and resulting pregnancy kind of influenced the decision a bit, but I like to think that Yuri was won over by Ben's romantic & honest heart.

That said, OMG there's only so much pushing away I could take. At one point I almost wished Ben would wipe his hands of Yuri and move on. I had to work at seeing things from Yuri's perspective, to see that he didn't consider himself worthy (in some respects) of Ben's love and thus the fear of being rejected if he did accept Ben's suit. Glad they finally worked that out.

Here's to hoping the next one will be just as good (or better)!

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

first book by author--pretty good...will try the others in series..didn't feel I l missed anything w/o reading prior books but it would have given more insight to the relationship between the different people

[Sierra · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an okay story, good plot but I couldn't get into the characters. While I loved how loving and steadfast Benjamin was, he was a little too perfect, perfect alpha, perfect son, perfect mate. He's been unlucky with finding his omega and boy is he unlucky finding Yuri! Yuri can't see the good in either Benjamin or his new pack. He should be feeling like he's landed in paradise but instead pushes away everything good offered to him. I see where he might be suspicious in the beginning--he has had some pretty bad experiences thus far. But even after he's offered a great environment and a man who will want and pursue him (even after he's rejected and embarrassed Benjamin), he just acts like a stubborn, deluded toddler. I didn't find Yuri's reasons logical when he ran away, when he continued to deny Benjamin, and most importantly, when he changed his mind and went back to Benjamin. Suddenly everything was fixed and Yuri was won over. It didn't feel authentic to me. There wasn't a lot of the mpreg details that many like but the birth and aftermath was sweet. While this was a good read for a love-wins-out story, I keep comparing all the series to the first one which was so strong! Will still be interested in the next one.

[Jaymie · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Stars!

Surprisingly enough this one had me crying a little. Benjamin broke my heart. He was a good man and a great Alpha and Yuri really puts him through the ringer. Out of all of the books in this series so far this one was the one where I was concerned for the Alpha more than the Omega.

While I didn’t hate Yuri and felt for what he endured, I grew annoyed by his stubbornness and determination to not even attempt to acclimate to Ben’s Pack. I wanted him to finally just stop running.
I grew to like him more and by the end loved him and Ben together.

Overall I enjoyed it and would definitely recommend it.

[Wende · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yuri was a sweet omega (Only read one book where the omega wasn't) He had a life filled with horror and very little love. He finally is taken to a pack where he is treated nicely. He doesn't trust this. I liked how he is abused before he finds is alpha and it is not a sugar sweet ride to the mating.

[Caroline Brand · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

[Rachel Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great installment in this series. I loved Benjamin and how caring he was towards Yuri. Very sweet.

[Fran · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the characters of this book because they had real-world troubles and real-world reactions. It wasn't all fantasy magic that made true love conquers all, it did give a push, but therapy, patience and time were a key factor in the coming together of this couple. Yuri made me want to hug and spoil him because anyone that has gone through that kind of life deserves to have the best, they need to have the world show them that it is not full of only monsters. Ben was the perfect understanding yet determined alpha. He and Yuri were good for each other. They taught each other things and filled in the gaps, helped each other grow. I liked that about the story.

It did have some faults. Sometimes the wrong word was used in a sentence that was a different tense than the rest of the story and I noticed the author used the wrong name once saying, Angel, when it was clearly Yuri speaking. And the ending seemed almost written by another author. I mean they took the time to set up this great emotional connection and the hardships it takes to overcome emotional scarring and the real fear and shame that comes with abuse yet the ending was rushed and kind of just happened and flitted along. The first 2/3 I loved but then it seemed forced and that was when most of the mistakes popped up as well. Not sure why but it took away from the story a bit. Still a fairly good read. And after hearing of Ben's previous potential mate trouble I am glad he got his happily ever after.

[Qin · Rating 2 out of 5]

A neat improvement on the previous books, if only because, this time, there is a strong undercurrent of feistiness in the youngest mate, leading straight to one of my favorite tropes: enemies to lovers. Too bad this is not done well, with hardly a touch of actual conflict and head-butting once the low-wattage verbal spats and threats of flight are disregarded as the barest minimum: the Alpha tends to be gullible and something of a pushover, whereas the Omega reeks of selfishness and amounts to a very tepid romantic partner when at last he decides to drop the act and give the mating a chance. Contrary to what Mrs Davis must have had in her mind, the mandatory mpreg does nothing to redress this imbalance and feels every bit as trite and jejune and token as in the preceding novels. The same remark obtains for the paranormal aspect; for nearly the entire length of the book, the reality that the protagonists are wolf shifters is entirely lost sight of - not the most adequate background for the exposition of Benjamin's so-called habitus-bending Alphaness, on which a fair amount of pages is spent. Finally, the writing is as far from smoothness and pellucidity as ever. One would have thought that authoring so many books at so short an interval might have improved Mrs Davis' literary chops - this hope proves to be vain.

[Brently · Rating 4 out of 5]

OKAY so first of all I have always been a lover of trust-issues driven angst, and I love the way how Benjamin REALLY DID TRY to woo Yuri. My love for this book is evident in my very high rating of it. Great and seamless exposition, effortless exchanges between characters that does not seem awkward in the slightest.

HOWEVER !!!!
This book is not without its flaws in my opinion, and thus I shall spell out the things I was not satisfied with this story. It was going so well up to 3/4 of the book, but when it was nearing the end, it began to feel RUSHED.

####SPOILERS####

First - the final part of the book is HEAVILY RUSHED. Trauma does not heal that easily and it should be shown in the character's behaviors! Why could they already easily converse just because Yuri had already gone home to Benjamin?

Second - WHY OH WHY did you have to make Benjamin pregnant to make him go back home to Benjamin??? LIKE BRO. THAT WAS SUCH - OH. The overall theme was already against that - I DO NOT LOVE YOU FOR WHAT YOU CAN OFFER ME, FOR YOU ARE ALREADY ENOUGH. Then he goes home to Benjamin because he's PREGNANT and that's supposed to make Benjamin happy because he's going thru some SHIT??? WHAT THE FUCK. THE REST OF THE BOOK WAS SO GOOD ExCEPT FOR THE RESOLVING OF THE MAIN FINAL PROBLEM. COULD'VE BEEN SO GOOD.

[Claudia Lezár · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5*

PLEASE READ MY RATING SYSTEM!!!

To my ratings:
A 3,5* is clicked with a 4* but in review marked as 3,5*:

5* - very very good and rare (it would be a Blow-Away-book like ‘Jesse's Smile’ or ‘Joey’ from Angelique Jurd, ‘Save the the kids’ series
from EM Leya, ‘Love’s Tethered Heart’ from C.L. Etta or ‘Liberty’ from Seth King),
it's like an A+

4* - very good and will be often reread and is a WOW-book with interesting plot and surprises (like most of Andrew Grey books and Davidson Kings 'Haven Hart'-series)
it's like an A

3,5* - a really good book, which will be reread a few times (most romances where you can enjoy for relaxing and during waiting times in
hospitals). I can recommend them definitively!
It's like an B+

3* - it could be more then a one-time-reader (2-3 times a year),
it's like a B

2* - it was ok to read, but it's more a one-time-reader (I wouldn't recommend it heartily, but it was ok)
It's like a C-, D

1* - sorry, but that isn't really a book for me (too many mistakes, not nice plot, illogical, so an absolute NO-GO). It's like failure in the
whole line, dismissed, repeat the class

[Kirstine Hansen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Benjamin, the hardworking young Cold Water pack alpha, who had been slated to mate with both Cameron and Jesse in the past (at different times!) finally gets his man.

Yuri the omega was "saved" as a child after the slaughter of his childhood pack. He then spent years being shunted from one pack to another, being horribly abused by the alphas in some of them. Now he's been dumped on Benjamin's doorstep by the latest assholes, furious and expecting to be treated like chattel once again.

Ben thought Yuri had agreed to an arranged marriage, so it's going to take huge amounts of patience to convince Yuri that Ben is one of the good ones, and that his family and pack are genuinely open and welcome.

Oh, and at the same time he's working to take over the demanding job as pack alpha from his father, and has to deal with his baby sister's suitors and illness in the family. Exhaustion, thy name is Benjamin.

[Becky A · Rating 3 out of 5]

"His Runaway Omega" received TWO AND A HALF stars.

The novel gained *stars* for these items:

* gained for: "The book caught my interest in the first five pages."

1/2 * gained for: "I thought about the book when I was forced to set it down and re-enter society."

* gained for: "I was sad when the book ended. I wanted more!"

The novel failed to gain stars for these items:

NO STAR gained for: "There were no info dumps, poor writing, or copy edit mistakes that jerked me out of the story."

NO STAR gained for: "That's it. I'm hooked on this author. I will automatically try anything s/he writes."

[Brandilyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Would have been a 4* easily, but the book needed an editor something awful. Wrong words, extra words, incomplete sentences and thoughts. A few scenes that needed to be cut. If it weren't for the fact that the author made me seriously care about these characters and their fates (and not just the MCs) I would have gone for a 2* just for that lack of editing. Not sure I will continue the series, but I am not ruling it out either. I just have to be prepared for a good story, with a half-asses effort put forward in its presentation.

[Katja · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick thoughts:

Much better than the last one - and more pages, which simply offers a better chance to work on a story instead of insta-love on first sight. And Mitch & Angel had a few lines and scenes here and there, which was a lovely surprise for me. The two of them have a secret place in my heart.

Ben and Yuri were both good characters with a believable story defining them. Yes, there is always a bit much to the drama factor but not that I mind. Part of these stories, I believe.

All in all, a good book.

[Wax · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favorite of the series. I did appreciate that the story tried to break the mold of usual alpha/omega stories, though. Usually it's alpha meets omega...alpha gets overbearing...omega is spunky and/or needs help...alpha and omega get together. This story was not that Yuri is an omega who has been abused and neglected for so long that even when faced with a good thing, he can't accept it. And though Ben is an alpha, he still like Yuri make his own decisions.

[Larissa Cremonin Mateo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m reading these books in chronological order, and I have to say, this was the sweetest one yet. It was just perfect. They way they love, the way they care, the way they protect one another, it’s all one could ask for, isn't it? And it was beautifully written.
It is indeed true that we can’t fully love someone until we deal with what ails us.

[Janette · Rating 3 out of 5]

The level of emotion and heart-wrenching devastation in this one took me by surprise. It was harder to wade through the abuse, rejection, and isolation than I expected, maybe because they lasted longer than anticipated. Overall a great addition to the series, even if I didn’t really feel connected or warm up to either character the way I have others in the series.

[Lindsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

So good.

This one is my favorite so far of this series! It was so good I didn’t even put it down once. Yuri was so stubborn and frustrating at times but thankfully he came to his senses in the end. Loved it.

[Caroline Mcconnell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love the story.

This book haas a really great storyline. If you're looking for a book about giving people more than one chance, this is the book for you.

[Teal Wolf · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love it

Intriguing characters who give feeling, heat, and depth. Fantastic storyline that pulls you in and keeps you interested. Definitely recommend

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Benjamin - Alpha and Yuri- Omega
MM MPREG.
Enjoyable read.
Best to read the mountain shifters books in series order.
The whole series is enjoyable and entertaining. But note that it has spelling errors, wrong words used and wrong characters names used at times.

[Tonileg · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wolf shifter M/M romance with a damaged Omega wolf finding love with an unusually kind Alpha.
Benjamin has been waiting a long time for his life mate, his best friend Jenny who he thought would be his mate has married elsewhere and now his father has made a trade with a faraway pack to get some one new, Yuri the Omega. Yuri is an orphan and has had a terrible life up until the point when he meets Benjamin Stillwater. So it makes sense that Yuri takes his time to heal and to fall in love before investing in a relationship with Ben.
Lots of plot and people drama in this story, but Ben was so boring!
154 pages and kindle freebie
2 stars

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good read :-)

Simply amazing the first time iv read a book from this author and would definitely read more and recommend it

[Sandra Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Happy Omega

Past pain can affect future happiness when your not sure who can be trusted. But slowly things work out future happiness seems brighter.

[Elyse · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Benjamin is an alpha that have no luck with omegas. Three time, they choose another alpha. The alpha has to step in the pack Alpha’s role since his father is sick.

Yuri is an omega rescue from war, send from one pack to another since he is “spirited” and cannot be controlled. Having the young omega send to the Cold Water pack is a opportunity for Ben, even if Yuri doesn’t know he is there for mating.

Yuri believes that all alpha are the same & that omegas does not have much rights. He run always after spending the night with Ben & seek sanctuary at Mountain Ridge where omegas are protected by Mitchell & Angel. He feels like he doesn’t belong anywhere, push Benjamin away and think he is not good enough because of he lived years of abused.

Not that I have finished this entire series, I can say that Benjamin & Yuri are cute together, but they are not the most memorable couple. Benjamin is a sweetheart, is patient and goes at Yuri speed in their relationship, but Yuri reminds me too much of Angel and I am a little bit tired of the torment omega stereotype. Of and of course, the MPREG happen after being together only one time and is put as a plot device.

It was cute & short, but not my favorite of this series.

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another enjoyable instalment in this series. It moved a little too quick at the end for my tastes, but the pacing throughout the rest of the book was well managed. Although sticks to the alpha omega theme, it didn't feel old.

Straight on to book 5 :)

[Kristy Maitz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad, not bad at all.

[Nans · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book, loved Benjamin and Yuri story, I can't wait for book 5 :)